I had 'it' all typed out and ready to go, but I didn't wanna steal your thunder, Thunder Cat.

I'm nothing if not predictable.

Predictable for comedy gold!

amiriteorwat

False metal!

Some brilliant memories for me
1986 (Spring) - Getting the Jesus and Mary Chain's Psychocandy (Reprise US release) and blasting it through my headphones knowing I'd get some flack from the parents over the feedbacks and SCREEEEEEEEEE.

1986 (Spring to Summer) - Going to Special Records (don't know when it closed...) and buying the following discs:
Julian Cope - Sunshine Playroom (12 Inch) - the manic-psych B sides!
The Associates - Q Quarters (12 Inch)
Syd Barrett - The Madcap Laughs/Barrett
The Cramps - A Date with Elvis
The Creatures - Mad Eyed Screamer (7 Inch)
Possibly - Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - Paint Your Wagon

1986 (Winter/Dec. possibly) - Going to a soon to close used album store and getting Scott Walker's first solo album titled Aloner in The US. A played but still playable disc with a small cut out "bullet" hole on the cover, this was at the time when he was still in the "Who's he?" files Stateside and just starting to get that cult status in The UK thanks to the Julian Cope-assembled Fire Escape in the Sky collection. To say that I was alone in my love of the album among my set of friends is to be factual about my memories. Have the CD today.

1987 (Spring) - Going to an Indie store in Toledo and being introduced to Psychic TV's Dreams Less Sweet. The clerk knew I was fully interested and actually previewed a couple of tracks for me which led to a sale (I was seriously into experimental sound discovery after being burned out from The Pop 80's). This was the first edition double platter with the Bonus Disc that I bought and introduced to a friend who was not as convinced. LP no longer in the collection due to moving to my apartment and getting some $$$ to help me for a couple of months through selling some good used discs, but again I have the CD to keep me company.

1987 (possibly Spring) - Going to a Salvation Army and getting Love's debut and Forever Changes on the same day! 50 cents each!!!

A great one - 1987-Around Fall - Borrowed Joy Division's "She's Lost Control/Atmosphere" 12 inch from an acquaintance and jaw-droppingly was allowed to keep it when I returned it at his house. I still have it - I'm sure will always keep it - it might have been a sign or something like that.

That reminds me of one of my greatest finds. I found a copy of the Velvet Underground and Nico at a Salvation Army around 1980. Had the banana peel intact on the cover too.

Second hand shops used to be a great way to fill in gaps in your collection, or buy new music. There was one called Freebird (originally accessed via a winding staircase up, where local lads would slouch against the wall and ask for money, then later they relocated, ironically, to a basement, so you still had to use stairs, but this time down. No seekers after loose change though, as it was in a better part of town). Basement X was another one, a real basement, so dark you felt like you were going into like Santa's Grotto or something (hey I was young and didn't have that many references for dark places) - quite intimidating but also friendly. Best part about those shops was you could browse literally for hours and nobody would bother you with "can I help you", translation: "buy something or get the **** out, this isn't a library."

Also cool that they would, if you asked and they were in a good mood, preview a record for you, play it on their system, and even if you didn't like it and decided not to buy it, you got no hassle. I miss those shops. You could go in with about twenty quid and come back out with zero cash but a bag of maybe forty to fifty records. Sweet. And of course later if you needed money you could sell yours to them. They were a lot more picky about that though, and you got next to nothing for them, so it wasn't a road I went down much at all.

love memories like that..lucky that we have the Animal Charity called the Hope Association, they display some goods for sale even on facebook .. more like a warehouse than a store...great stuff if you can spare the time to rake about in there..husband will not enter it..being from a poorish background, always cast off's with everything, he just wants all new gear...I get that, but am not with that mindset. Not too fussed about some dirt and wear and tear, all can be cleaned and cared for again... Lets face it..the bargains are the bait,,,

I pretty much stopped second hand bargain bin hunting. You do it for years, you of course know which records are interesting or collectors items, even from artists you don't care much for. So does every other schmuck, so the bargain bins are cleaned out of good/interesting stuff and more so now than years back before LPs really got into their resurgence.

On occasion, I pick at LPs for a few seconds before I remember I've long ago tired of sifting through trash.

Second hand record bins are trash collectors. Good picks disappear in an instant while the junk accumulates.